Chapter 4

The next morning, Joey woke up to find the bottle of Vodka empty. Figuring that he drank it all the night before, he got up, leaving Lance asleep, and went to the bathroom to shower.

When the blond rolled over, he could smell Joeys' scent on the pillow and blankets next to him, but when his hand went to embrace his boyfriend, he found that Joey was not in the bed next to him. Moaning as he slowly started to wake up, he called out quietly. "Joey?"

"Alright." Picking up the phone receiver, Lance ordered 2 buffet style breakfasts, suitable for room service and a pot of black coffe, figuring Joey would need it once he got out of the shower.

Wrapping a towel around his lower torse, Joey came out of the shower still dripping wet. "So, what did you order?" he asked as he started to rummage through his things, looking for something to wear.

"A buffet style breakfast, room service style. Is that okay? Or would you rather have something else?" Lance asked, straightening the room somewhat.

"Sounds good to me," Joey answered, picking out a muscle shirt and tight black jeans, along with his lucky pair of boxers. He didn't even notice he was whisling out of tune as he dressed.

Lance tried to hide a laugh as he pulled the covers down over the pillows on the bed. Unfortunatly for Lance, hiding back laughter wasn't one of his strong points. But when he tried to smile, he got a painful reminder of what had happened the night before. "Ow..."

Glancing up, Joey saw that Lances' face was starting to swell. "What happened to you? Put some ice on that, before it swells anymore."

"You...you don't rememb..." Lance started to say, but thought twice about it. "Alright..." Walking over to the phone, he dialed for room service again and asked if a small bucket of ice could be sent up with the order.

"Hey Lance," Joey called, getting stuck on his own zipper. "When you get off the phone, could you help me out here? I hate these pants...too tight, but I don't wanna find something else that doesn't need to be laundered."

Hanging up the phone, Lance tried to smile, but his jaw still wouldn't let him do so. Walking over and kneeling in front of Joey, Lance tried his hand at getting the zipper up. "Suck in that gut of yours..." he said teasingly; hoping to put last night behind him, seeing as to how Joey didn't remember it.

Lance struggled with the zipper for a moment more. Groaning as he tried to get it up, he didn't succeed and looked up at Joey apologitically. "I think it's time these jeans retired..."

"But I loved these pants," Joey whined, giving a disappointed face. "Now that means I gotta find another clean pair. Dammit..."

"Sure...I guess..." Lance answered, slapping Joey on the hip. "Get them off and I'll run them down to one of the costume ladies?"

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Joey tried to pull them off, but again didn't succeed. Starting to jump around the room, he tugged at the waistline trying to get them down. "Lance, not gonna happen..."

Laughing, Lance called Joey over to where he was still kneeling on the floor, watching the events unfold. "Come here Joey...let me try again..." Joey once again obliged. Making sure the zipper was all the way down, Lance tugged first a little on the left leg, then on the right, then on the left again. Slowly he was about to inch the tight jeans down over Joeys' hips, sometimes taking the boxers with them. "Um...I think you better...hold up your boxers...unless you want them taken...out too..."

Joey grabbed his boxers waist band and held them up as Lance continued to pull and tug. When Lance finally got them down, he smiled triumphantly at himself, looking up at Joey. "There ya go..."

"Um..." the blond said, looking away from Joey, but remaining on his knees in front of him. "I think...it's suppose to be um...sunny..."

"Great," Joey replied, flashing Lance a flirty grin. "I'll just wear these as shorts then. Think anyone will notice?"

Smiling back, and finally standing, Lance looked up into Joeys' eyes. "I don't think I want others to see you in only boxers. Shouldn't that be a sight for only me to see hm?"

"Great," Joey smiled. "Wait, I fogot though I'm outta aftershave. You know my kind. Can you run down to town and get me some?"

Taking hold of Lances' arm, the older singer answered, "I'll give you an hour and a half seein as it's hard to find in certain places and I dont know if this is one of them or not...Go get it and come straight back...understand?"

Shaking his head, Lance gulped, remembering last night, and all the other times he disobeyed Joeys' orders. "No...you don't have to say..."

"Good, now would you mind please?" Lance nodded and went to change into something he could go out into public in. Pulling a black shirt, boxers, and jeans from his suitcase, he walked into the bathroom, quickly changed, then reemerged. "Aren't you gonna wait for breakfast?"

"Um...I'll eat when I get back...the sooner I go, the sooner I'll be back...okay?" Lance asked, stopping just before he reached the door.

Smiling back at him, Lance blew a kiss in Joeys' direction. "Thank you. I'll be back as soon as I can. Love you."

An hour and fourty five minutes later, Lance came walking back down the hall, two packages in his hands. One a bag from the local department store, the other a small box with a ribbon tied around it and small holes poked in the top. Inserting his key into the door to their room, he quietly unlocked it and poked his head in. "Joey?"

Starting to loose control, Joey got up and crossed the room in three strides. Slamming the door behind Lance, the Italian one shoved the southern gentleman into the wall. "Where the hell have you been?"

"I...I stopped and...and got you some...something..." the blond replied, shaken up. Maybe his unexpected stop shouldn't have happened.

"This..." the frightened blond replied, holding the shoe-sized box in his shaking hands. "I...I can always take it back...if you don't like it..."

Letting go of Lance, Joey timidly took the box in his hands and went to sit on the bed. "What is it?"

"A wedding band," Lance teased, still standing against the door, trying not to show his excitement, or was that terror he was trying to hide?

Looking at Lance, "A wedding band? In a box this big? With holes? Shouldn't a wedding band come in a small velvet box?" Raising an eyebrow, Joey looked down at the box and wondered what it was.

"Just open the box..." Lance replied, walking over to Joey and kneeling next to him. "I hope you like it..."

Frowning at his boyfriends' reaction, Lance reached up and took the kitten from Joey. Holding it close to him, he whispered, "I thought you'd like it...I'm sorry. I'll take her back..."

Taking the kitten back from Lance, Joey replied, "No I like it. It's just...what is it? A mink? A raccoon? What?"

Watching as Joey held the roughly 3 month old, pure black kitten with its baby blue eyes, up to examine it closer, Lance explained, "It's a kitten...isn't she precious?"

"She's not flee infested." Taking the kitten and returning her to the box, Lance whispered, "If you don't like her, then say so. I don't care, I just thought you'd like a pet of your own while you're on tour." Picking up the lid to the box, he returned it, as well as the ribbon and stood to walk out the door. "I'll be back as soon as I return her to the pet shop."

"Don't you dare take that cat anywhere! She's mine now," Joey shouted, standing and walking towards Lance. "Give me back my little Jezabel."

Lance turned and handed him the box, his hands shaking again. "We...we need to talk too...when you're ready..."

Taking the kitten back out of the box, he craddled her in his arms and he took a seat on the bed. "About what?"

Lance stood where he was, not wanting to be any closer to Joey for what he had to say. "Um...Joey...you know I love you right?" Joey just mumbled something, his eyes connected on the kitten in his arms. "Well...um...I was thinking...if the beating doesn't stop...I'll um...go to the police about it..." Lance didn't make any eye contact with him, he was too scared that if he looked up, Joey would be right there, his fist drawn back ready to deck him again.

"So does this kitten come with a toliet, or a leash, collar, anything?" Joey asked, not hearing or comprehending what Lance had said.

Letting it all sink in, Joey looked up at Lance finally, and in a whispered voice, replied, "Yeah, I heard."

"So...you're not mad at me for...for saying this? I mean...I don't want anything to happen to us Joey...but I'm scared that...that...I've been hurt so many times, by people I love. Joey, I don't want to add you to that list."

Putting the kitten on the bed, Joey stood and walked over to Lance. Once he reached his boyfriend, Joey embraced Lance in a tight hug. "I didn't know what I was doing. I'm sorry."

Shocked for a moment, for the only touch he got from Joey was when he was being hit and kicked, Lance almost pushed him away. "You're...you're not mad at me for being late?"

Laughing quietly, Lance turned and rested his head on Joeys' shoulder. "Want something? Or did your hand just slip?" he teased.

Pulling away slightly, Lance let his hand slip down the front from Joeys' shoulder to his chest. "Yeah, mine too."

"Honest, you're a bad liar..." Lance joked, his hands moving around back to the small of Joeys' back.

Pulling Lance closer to him, Joey hugged him tighter and kissed him sweetly. The kiss lasted a few more minutes until Joey pulled away. "So...does that kitten come with a toliet or what?" he asked, totally breaking the mood.

Lance only laughed and pulled Joey closer to him again. "The kitten can wait...or would you rather be with a kitten then your boyfriend hm?"

Lance dropped his jaw and shoved him playfully away. "You're mean, picking a 'flee infested thing' over me..." Turning it on fully, Lance stuck his lower lip out and pouted, fake tears starting to form in his green eyes. "You love a kitten more then your own boyfriend..."

Smothering Lance in kisses, Joey replied, "You know I love you more then any living being on this Earth."

Joey turned them both around and walked forward, moving Lance back towards the bed. "Is that a hint for something?"


	Inner Reflection \| home back to When Love Hurts Chapter 4 The next morning, Joey woke up to find the bottle of Vodka empty. Figuring that he drank it all the night before, he got up, leaving Lance asleep, and went to the bathroom to shower. When the blond rolled over, he could smell Joeys' scent on the pillow and blankets next to him, but when his hand went to embrace his boyfriend, he found that Joey was not in the bed next to him. Moaning as he slowly started to wake up, he called out quietly. "Joey?" "In the shower..." Joey called back. "Be right out. Order some room service, will ya?" Breathing a sigh of reliefe, Lance called back, "Okay...what do you feel like?" "Whatever you feel like ordering." "Alright." Picking up the phone receiver, Lance ordered 2 buffet style breakfasts, suitable for room service and a pot of black coffe, figuring Joey would need it once he got out of the shower. Wrapping a towel around his lower torse, Joey came out of the shower still dripping wet. "So, what did you order?" he asked as he started to rummage through his things, looking for something to wear. "A buffet style breakfast, room service style. Is that okay? Or would you rather have something else?" Lance asked, straightening the room somewhat. "Sounds good to me," Joey answered, picking out a muscle shirt and tight black jeans, along with his lucky pair of boxers. He didn't even notice he was whisling out of tune as he dressed. Lance tried to hide a laugh as he pulled the covers down over the pillows on the bed. Unfortunatly for Lance, hiding back laughter wasn't one of his strong points. But when he tried to smile, he got a painful reminder of what had happened the night before. "Ow..." Glancing up, Joey saw that Lances' face was starting to swell. "What happened to you? Put some ice on that, before it swells anymore." "You...you don't rememb..." Lance started to say, but thought twice about it. "Alright..." Walking over to the phone, he dialed for room service again and asked if a small bucket of ice could be sent up with the order. "Hey Lance," Joey called, getting stuck on his own zipper. "When you get off the phone, could you help me out here? I hate these pants...too tight, but I don't wanna find something else that doesn't need to be laundered." Hanging up the phone, Lance tried to smile, but his jaw still wouldn't let him do so. Walking over and kneeling in front of Joey, Lance tried his hand at getting the zipper up. "Suck in that gut of yours..." he said teasingly; hoping to put last night behind him, seeing as to how Joey didn't remember it. "You sure that will work?" Joey asked, complying with Lances' order. "It couldn't hurt..." "How much longer do I have to hold it in?" Lance struggled with the zipper for a moment more. Groaning as he tried to get it up, he didn't succeed and looked up at Joey apologitically. "I think it's time these jeans retired..." "But I loved these pants," Joey whined, giving a disappointed face. "Now that means I gotta find another clean pair. Dammit..." "I'm sorry...you did look hot in them while it lasted..." "Can't we have someone take them out?" "Sure...I guess..." Lance answered, slapping Joey on the hip. "Get them off and I'll run them down to one of the costume ladies?" Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Joey tried to pull them off, but again didn't succeed. Starting to jump around the room, he tugged at the waistline trying to get them down. "Lance, not gonna happen..." Laughing, Lance called Joey over to where he was still kneeling on the floor, watching the events unfold. "Come here Joey...let me try again..." Joey once again obliged. Making sure the zipper was all the way down, Lance tugged first a little on the left leg, then on the right, then on the left again. Slowly he was about to inch the tight jeans down over Joeys' hips, sometimes taking the boxers with them. "Um...I think you better...hold up your boxers...unless you want them taken...out too..." Joey grabbed his boxers waist band and held them up as Lance continued to pull and tug. When Lance finally got them down, he smiled triumphantly at himself, looking up at Joey. "There ya go..." "Great, now I gotta find something else clean. What's the weather suppose to be like today?" "Um..." the blond said, looking away from Joey, but remaining on his knees in front of him. "I think...it's suppose to be um...sunny..." "Great," Joey replied, flashing Lance a flirty grin. "I'll just wear these as shorts then. Think anyone will notice?" Smiling back, and finally standing, Lance looked up into Joeys' eyes. "I don't think I want others to see you in only boxers. Shouldn't that be a sight for only me to see hm?" "I guess you gotta point there," the older one shrugged. "How about swimming trunks then?" "How about we just take the day off period? Just lounge around here..." "So I can stay like this?" "If you want to take the day off..." Lance replied. "Great," Joey smiled. "Wait, I fogot though I'm outta aftershave. You know my kind. Can you run down to town and get me some?" "You trust me to go by myself?" Taking hold of Lances' arm, the older singer answered, "I'll give you an hour and a half seein as it's hard to find in certain places and I dont know if this is one of them or not...Go get it and come straight back...understand?" Lance nodded, looking away from Joey. "Yeah...I understand..." "Great, if I have to call you even once after that, well, need I even say?" Shaking his head, Lance gulped, remembering last night, and all the other times he disobeyed Joeys' orders. "No...you don't have to say..." "Good, now would you mind please?" Lance nodded and went to change into something he could go out into public in. Pulling a black shirt, boxers, and jeans from his suitcase, he walked into the bathroom, quickly changed, then reemerged. "Aren't you gonna wait for breakfast?" "Um...I'll eat when I get back...the sooner I go, the sooner I'll be back...okay?" Lance asked, stopping just before he reached the door. "Okay. I'll keep it warm for you." Smiling back at him, Lance blew a kiss in Joeys' direction. "Thank you. I'll be back as soon as I can. Love you." "Love you too Lance, and thanks." ----- An hour and fourty five minutes later, Lance came walking back down the hall, two packages in his hands. One a bag from the local department store, the other a small box with a ribbon tied around it and small holes poked in the top. Inserting his key into the door to their room, he quietly unlocked it and poked his head in. "Joey?" Laying on the bed, Joey replied, "You're fifteen minutes late. Where were you?" "I had to make an unexpected stop..." Starting to loose control, Joey got up and crossed the room in three strides. Slamming the door behind Lance, the Italian one shoved the southern gentleman into the wall. "Where the hell have you been?" "I...I stopped and...and got you some...something..." the blond replied, shaken up. Maybe his unexpected stop shouldn't have happened. HOlding him firmly against the wall, Joey hissed, "What?" "This..." the frightened blond replied, holding the shoe-sized box in his shaking hands. "I...I can always take it back...if you don't like it..." Letting go of Lance, Joey timidly took the box in his hands and went to sit on the bed. "What is it?" "A wedding band," Lance teased, still standing against the door, trying not to show his excitement, or was that terror he was trying to hide? Looking at Lance, "A wedding band? In a box this big? With holes? Shouldn't a wedding band come in a small velvet box?" Raising an eyebrow, Joey looked down at the box and wondered what it was. "Just open the box..." Lance replied, walking over to Joey and kneeling next to him. "I hope you like it..." Slowly untying the ribbon, Joey gave Lance a cautious glance. "Like what?" "Open it and see..." Lifting the lid slightly, Joey peered into the dark depths of the box. "What it is..." "Well, Chris has Busta and Korea and I have Dirk. I thought this would be cute for you..." Reaching into the box, Joey pulled out a wriggling, squiggling, black kitten. "What is this?" Frowning at his boyfriends' reaction, Lance reached up and took the kitten from Joey. Holding it close to him, he whispered, "I thought you'd like it...I'm sorry. I'll take her back..." Taking the kitten back from Lance, Joey replied, "No I like it. It's just...what is it? A mink? A raccoon? What?" Watching as Joey held the roughly 3 month old, pure black kitten with its baby blue eyes, up to examine it closer, Lance explained, "It's a kitten...isn't she precious?" "Let me get this straight, you got me a flee infested fur bag?" "She's not flee infested." Taking the kitten and returning her to the box, Lance whispered, "If you don't like her, then say so. I don't care, I just thought you'd like a pet of your own while you're on tour." Picking up the lid to the box, he returned it, as well as the ribbon and stood to walk out the door. "I'll be back as soon as I return her to the pet shop." "Don't you dare take that cat anywhere! She's mine now," Joey shouted, standing and walking towards Lance. "Give me back my little Jezabel." Lance turned and handed him the box, his hands shaking again. "We...we need to talk too...when you're ready..." Taking the kitten back out of the box, he craddled her in his arms and he took a seat on the bed. "About what?" Lance stood where he was, not wanting to be any closer to Joey for what he had to say. "Um...Joey...you know I love you right?" Joey just mumbled something, his eyes connected on the kitten in his arms. "Well...um...I was thinking...if the beating doesn't stop...I'll um...go to the police about it..." Lance didn't make any eye contact with him, he was too scared that if he looked up, Joey would be right there, his fist drawn back ready to deck him again. "So does this kitten come with a toliet, or a leash, collar, anything?" Joey asked, not hearing or comprehending what Lance had said. "Joey, did you hear me?" Letting it all sink in, Joey looked up at Lance finally, and in a whispered voice, replied, "Yeah, I heard." "So...you're not mad at me for...for saying this? I mean...I don't want anything to happen to us Joey...but I'm scared that...that...I've been hurt so many times, by people I love. Joey, I don't want to add you to that list." Putting the kitten on the bed, Joey stood and walked over to Lance. Once he reached his boyfriend, Joey embraced Lance in a tight hug. "I didn't know what I was doing. I'm sorry." Shocked for a moment, for the only touch he got from Joey was when he was being hit and kicked, Lance almost pushed him away. "You're...you're not mad at me for being late?" Being overly friendly, Joey reached down behind and grabbed Lances' ass. "Of course I'm not." Laughing quietly, Lance turned and rested his head on Joeys' shoulder. "Want something? Or did your hand just slip?" he teased. Teasing back, Joey stopped what he was doing. "I think it just slipped." Pulling away slightly, Lance let his hand slip down the front from Joeys' shoulder to his chest. "Yeah, mine too." Licking his lips, Joey looked down at Lance. "Yeah right, they just slipped..." "Like your hands just slipped?" Lance countered, letting his hands move further southward. "Honest, my hands did just slip," Joey replied, squeezing Lance again in the butt. "Honest, you're a bad liar..." Lance joked, his hands moving around back to the small of Joeys' back. Pulling Lance closer to him, Joey hugged him tighter and kissed him sweetly. The kiss lasted a few more minutes until Joey pulled away. "So...does that kitten come with a toliet or what?" he asked, totally breaking the mood. Lance only laughed and pulled Joey closer to him again. "The kitten can wait...or would you rather be with a kitten then your boyfriend hm?" The kitten," Joey replied teasingly, using his playful tone. Lance dropped his jaw and shoved him playfully away. "You're mean, picking a 'flee infested thing' over me..." Turning it on fully, Lance stuck his lower lip out and pouted, fake tears starting to form in his green eyes. "You love a kitten more then your own boyfriend..." Smothering Lance in kisses, Joey replied, "You know I love you more then any living being on this Earth." Smiling into the kisses, Lance whispered, "I think I need a little more convincing..." Joey turned them both around and walked forward, moving Lance back towards the bed. "Is that a hint for something?" "Maybe..." the blond cooed.